Peaches
by emaline5678
Summary: What exactly was Mick thinking when Beth kissed him in that parking garage? Just an angsty, romantic fluff piece.


_Another "Moonlight" memory. This is just Mick's reaction to the kiss from that parking lot. Just an angsty, romantic fluff piece. Total M/B. Rated PG. Enjoy!_

_Once again I don't own this show. If I did, I would feature more Josef!_

She tasted of warm peaches, as if she had been eating the fruit for days. Yet, Mick knew Beth had not. It was just the flavor of her kisses.

The last fruit Mick remembered eating before becoming a vampire had been a peach. Over the years, when hunger for blood had replaced hunger for food, he would try to imagine every detail about every food he had ever eaten. Longing for the good ol' days probably. It was like he was storing up memories to tell his pretend grandchildren. _Listen here, kids. This is what a peach tastes like._ The last meal he had eaten had been at his wedding reception. Roast beef, mashed potatoes, green beans, chocolate cake. He had been too happy and in love to notice his undead wife never touched her plate.

It wasn't that day that he'd eaten the peach. It was the day before. The fruit had been in season and he had bought a pound on impulse from one of his bandmates. Ten years after being turned, he had tried to write down every detail about that peach. Now fifty years after being turned, he didn't have to look at his notes. The memory was still burned onto his mind as if he had been singed by that same summer sun.

The day had been warm, sunny, humid. His last full day in the sun. He and his friends were gathered around a few picnic tables, drinking and bullshitting as the day slipped by. The day may have been hot, but the peach was unbelievably cool. Its fuzzy orange skin was as soft as velvet. The weight of the fruit was comforting in his hand. If he closed his fist, he could barely conceal the peach.

When he finally bit into the peach, the juice ran down his lips and chin in rivulets. He remembered he had felt like a jackass as the peach juice stained his white shirt. His buddies laughed at him as he tried to scrounge his car for a napkin. Finally he had just given up and continued nibbling at the peach, juice be damned.

The fruit had been so moist, so sweet, and succulent. Ever since he had been a boy, peaches had reminded him of summer and baseball games in the park. Mick had eaten every bit of that peach as he talked with his friends that day. They talked of baseball, Korea, TV. Strangely everything but Mick's wedding the next day.

He shouldn't have let Beth kiss him – let alone twice. The first time she had caught him totally off guard. He had been trying to fish his keys out from underneath his car as it sat in the quiet parking lot near her office. He was immortal and had the strength of 10 men but couldn't manage to keep his keys in his freaking hand.

When he finally grabbed his keys, she had been standing just inches away from him. Her blue eyes had looked straight into his soul. Every time he looked at her, he lost himself in those blue innocent depths. Those eyes didn't condemn him or curse him. They only simply loved him. Those eyes would cry for him if he were destroyed. Those eyes would miss him when he would eventually leave her. He would leave her one day – to save her. He just could never think of a time to finally say goodbye.

That night those sapphire pools were softly accusing him of leaving without saying goodbye. He knew it wasn't the final goodbye she wanted; only a goodbye for the night. No matter how hard he tried to frighten her, she would always come back to him in the end. How could he ever deny her? He had started to say the word – when her lips suddenly met his.

_The kiss_. It made him feel as if the sun had abruptly filled the night sky. The world was no longer dark, silent, lonely. Suddenly, the world was alive with color and music. Mick felt something move in his chest as if his long dead heart had remembered to beat again. For a fleeting second, Beth had made Mick feel alive – warm – human.

_Those lips_. She had tasted of peaches. Moist, sweet peaches that had been warmed by the summer sun.

Before he could savor more of her, she had pulled away as if to gauge his reaction. He could only stare back into those innocent eyes, his mind a blank page. Literally. All ability to string words together had left his brain completely. There was nothing in Mick's world now but Beth Turner.

He barely felt the touch of her soft hand on his cheek. He could only feel her essence running up and down his body in warm shivers. As if her blood still called to him from within his veins. He wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her body and press her to him. He wanted to hold her and feel the warmth of her heart and her blood. He didn't want to feed on her – that fact no longer surprised him. He only wanted to touch her, to hold her, to feel human again – if only for a few minutes.

When she reached up to meet his lips again, he did nothing to stop her. He should have flashed his vampire teeth and chased her away. He was a monster, a freak, a demon after all. Instead, God help him, he kissed her back.

He moved his lips softly with hers and felt the soft warmth of her breath against his mouth. He lost himself in the taste of her kind, moist lips. He lost himself in the taste of that peach. He was no longer a cold, blood sucker. He was a man again – a man just sitting with his friends in the warm sunshine on a lazy summer afternoon. He was young, healthy, alive – and in love. Deeply, deeply in love. It was all he could taste on her lips – peaches and love.

He parted his lips wider to taste more of her…and then she was gone. Mick could do nothing but watch her run away from him across the parking lot. She ran away without a backward glance, her blonde hair bouncing gently across her back. He was then left alone in the dark night once more.

He shouldn't have let her kiss him. He waited for the constant dark loneliness to return again to his dead heart. Instead, he felt only the warmth of summer and love on his skin and in his heart. He didn't feel like a monster – he actually felt like his heart could beat again. He felt human – mortal – more alive than he had felt in 50 years.

Mick couldn't help as a wicked smile filled his face. Sure, he shouldn't have let her kiss him, but he had definitely kissed her back.

Humming tunelessly under his breath, Mick started his car and made his way out of the deserted parking garage. On the way home, he had to keep checking his mirror to make sure that it wasn't the summer of 1952. He had to keep licking his lips to capture every drop of that sweet peach.

Boy, was he sure happy as hell that he kissed her back.


End file.
